The Angel Whose Wings Turned Black
by Peridot Penguin
Summary: Helga's freedom was taken from her when Big Bob sold her for cash he couldn't refuse, forcing her to leave Hillwood. Years later, she comes back with Miles and Stella in tow, but she's changed into a girl with cold eyes and refuses to talk. The scars that covered her body told a torturous story beyond what anyone could ever imagine, a story Helga wished to protect everyone from.
1. Chapter 0: Prologue

**(DISCLAIMER)**

**I do not own Hey Arnold! in any kinds or forms. Hey Arnold! belongs to Craig Bartlett.**

**The story was inspired by another Hey Arnold! fanfiction "Come Back to Me" by Emo-Shukun.**

**This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons (dead/alive) or actual events is purely coincidental.**

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**Chapter 0: Prologue**

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Bang!

Birds scattered into the clear sky of the night as a gunshot cracked into the air.

Bang! Bang!

Several more shots were fired, echoing in the dense woods, disturbing the evening wildlife.

"Don't let her get away!"

Men in penguin suits scattered about with pistols in their grips. They combed the grounds for their pursuit, sweeping the area amidst the rising fog. Their prey of messy blonde lurked in the shadows of the canopy, watching them behind long, dirtied locks.

"Damn it! Where is she!?"

Cold droplets pattered on the man's shaven head, snapping his head up in alarm. Legs clothed in tattered pants gave him no time to flinch as he was tackled square in the chest. He fell hard onto the grassy ground and just as his pistol flew from his hand, a heavy rock was swiftly slammed down to his throat. Carmine red spewed from his mouth and trickled down his neck. His systems began to spasm as he slowly fell into shock. The last thing he saw was a pair of cold, blue eyes before the rock slammed down again with greater force. He heard an ominous crack reverberate in his head, then everything went black.

The other men came running and stopped short upon seeing the girl slowly standing up, their comrade now dead at her feet with a rock embedded in his throat. They watched in horror as she faced them, stained with fresh blood that was not her own. Her stare, more chilling than the winter night, showed no remorse nor reluctance. She took a step forward and they raised their guns, aiming with unsteady hands. No one had a chance to pull their trigger because in that split moment, they were all down on the ground in the pool of their own blood.

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**(AUTHOR'S NOTE)**

**The story disregards the events in Hey Arnold!: The Jungle Movie. It goes as though Arnold and his friends have never gone to San Lorenzo. However, some of the movie plot line would be used in this fanfiction.**

**R&R and I'll update as soon as I can!**


	2. Chapter 1: Chaos in Sunset Arms

**Chapter 1: Chaos in Sunset Arms**

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Students bustled in the halls of H.S. 118 as the end of school sounded. A blond weaved his way through the crowd to his locker, swinging its door open after a few twists and turns to the lock. He rummaged through the messy contents of the metal box, pulling out an old, leather-bound journal.

"Hey, Arnold!"

Arnold looked up at the call. His best friend stood tall and dark, a spitting image of his own brother back when he himself was a junior in high school. His hair towered in the same hairdo it had always been all these years and he donned his favorite red hoodie with his iconic "33" across his chest.

"Hey, Gerald."

They connected their fists, wiggling their thumbs in the air.

"You on your way to baseball practice?"

Arnold looked down at the journal in his hands, tracing its worn-out edges with his thumb.

"Sorry, Gerald. Maybe not today." His voice was a notch lower than usual. He closed his locker shut, letting out a heavy sigh. "Today's just-"

"Hey, man, it's cool." The dark-haired placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. He knew why he was glum the whole day, it was the same every year. "Need my company to cool off?"

The blond shook his head, eyes staying downcast. "Thanks but, I think I want to be alone for a while."

Gerald nodded his head understandingly, giving his shoulder a squeeze before letting go. "I'll come up with something for the guys. I'll catch up with you later, okay?"

Arnold gave a weak smile as his best friend turned on his heels and headed down the hall. It was days like this that reminded him how fortunate he was to have someone like him by his side.

**-o-o-o-**

Arnold plugged his ears with his jazz mix, but not even his favorite tunes could cheer him up on days like these. Even though the sky was blue and the grass was green, he could only see them in pale hues. His naturally optimistic disposition was lost in a whirlwind of thoughts. The music that played in his ears seemed afar no matter how high the setting was.

Every year on the same day, he was always down in the dumps, on the anniversary of when his parents had left him.

He looked at his father's journal with distant eyes. He wondered where they could be, if they thought of him as much as he thought of them, if they were safe somewhere out there, if they were alive or if they were… Arnold shook the thoughts away.

Time flew by as he mindlessly walked down the streets. Soon enough, the red building of Sunset Arms Boarding House came into view, the place where his parents had left him under the care of his loving grandparents and where he had lived in ever since. He knew every crook and cranny inside and out, having nothing changed ever since he could remember. Even the regular borders continued to live there with the Kokoshka couple still in room 7, Ernie Potts in room 5 and Mr. Hyunh in room 3.

The green door of the old building swung open and animals stampeded down the stoop with Ernie in tow. His jovial mood was hard to miss with the broad grin that tugged his lips and the spring in his steps. The border was dressed to impress, donning his most expensive suit and polished, leather shoes. His red locks curled in a favorable manner and his cologne emanated from him with a little more kick and spice.

"On a date, Mr. Potts?" Arnold plucked out his earpiece, smiling at the contagiously good mood of his midget friend.

"You got that right, Arnold. I'm on my way to pick up flowers for Lola so I gotta get going." He took a step forward and turned back around. "And hey, here's a little tip; Oskar and your gramps are having a game of checkers in the living room. If I were you, I'd take the fire escape today." He winked before heading off once more.

Just as he was told, Arnold could hear the squabble between his grandfather and one of the borders. His grandmother's laughter was thrown into the mix and he could already imagine her prancing around on an invisible horse.

"Oskar, can you ever get through a game of checkers without cheating?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, gramps. I'm only making my move."

"Yeah, with _my_ checker piece. And stop calling me 'gramps'. You are not my grandson."

"Come on, gramps, it's your turn."

"Why you little-"

Philip's curse was interrupted by Gertrude's random whoop.

Arnold rounded the building and into the alleyway, ascending the ladders of the fire escape to the roof. He rarely comes home in this manner except for days like this when he would rather be left alone. He pulled his skylight open and the voices of his grandfather and Oskar could be heard through his door. He gave a sigh, plugging his earpiece back into his ears and blasting his music to drown them out. He tossed his bag carelessly at a corner before letting himself crash backwards into his bed with a thud, the journal still in his grasp.

He stared at the sky for a while, then craned his neck over to the other side of the room. The wall was covered with several newspaper clippings, articles, maps, photos, notes… anything that had information on the jungles of San Lorenzo and the Green-Eyes that could help him find his parents, but he had nothing to go on that could pinpoint their whereabouts in the vast jungle. Everything he collected was just a jumble mess of facts.

Arnold turned his head over, reaching out for the picture frame on his bedside shelves. The young faces of his parents smiled at him. How he wished he could be with them once more, wherever they were. Just for a moment was all he asked for, to share an embrace with them and know what it was like to have his family complete. He closed his eyes as he pressed the frame and the journal gently to his chest. At least he could still see them in his dreams.

**-o-o-o-**

Arnold's eyes fluttered open to the dark sky streaked with red and orange from the setting sun. He pushed himself up groggily, looking over at his potato clock. His blurry eyes barely distinguishing the little arm pointing just past 5 pm. He stretched his arms over his head and gave a yawn as he adjusted his earpiece back into place. Looking down on the photo of his parents, he carefully placed it aside with the journal and headed for the door. All the moping he did had drained him and he was desperate for a shower to cool off.

Lost in his music, he trudged to the bathroom, pushing its door open. Steam suddenly enveloped him and he stopped short, a skeptical look crossed his face. When he glanced over to the showers, his heart skipped at the sight.

There, completely in the nude, was a young woman.

Arnold thanked his lucky stars that her back was to him as she glided a hand across her opposing arm. Her blonde hair was up high in an untidy bun with droplets of water hanging from the ends of loose strands. Her skin was glazed with soap, glistening beneath the florescent lights. Her body was a figure of perfection with curves at all the right places.

Arnold stood frozen at the door, his grip was tight on the doorknob and his heart pounded louder in his ears than his music. The reasonable part of his brain halted and his eyes started wandering down her body. They trailed down from her golden locks, his eyes following the soap suds that slid down her neck, to her shoulders, lower and lower. His mind screamed in retaliation but his lecherous thoughts were gone in an instant when his eyes lingered a little longer on her back.

"Wha-"

Hearing a voice, the blonde looked over her shoulders. Her face showed no signs of emotion, void of any expression, but her blue eyes pierced him to the core, icy and cold. Arnold flushed in her gaze and he shut his eyes tight, shouting an apology before dashing out of the bathroom, slamming the door behind him, rattling on its hinges. The young woman resumed her business, giving him no second thought.

Arnold bolted through the halls and down the stairs, desperately trying to discard the sinful image that could taunt any healthy, hormonal teenager like him. He uttered repeatedly under his breath that he was a gentleman, refusing to succumb to any immoral thoughts that were forcing their way into his mind.

As shaken as he already was, what disturbed him the most was not the gorgeous beauty that teased his chastity, but the scars that spared no inch of mercy on her skin. Some were prominently deep while others looked like mere scratches. There were long ones that trailed across her back and several small ones in every space that could have been spared.

_What's with those scars?_ Questions rushed through his mind. _How did she get them? Why is she here? Who was that!?_

"Grandma! Grandpa!" Arnold hurtled himself to the dining room, slamming a hand on the door frame to stop his momentum.

"Grandma, Grandpa…" He huffed out once more, bending low to catch his breath. "Is there-"

Looking up, his voice denied him to continue.

A couple, who he had only seen in pictures and heard of in many stories, stood from the table and approached him with tears streaming down their cheeks and smiles playing on their lips. The years away had been unkind to them, streaking their hairs with white and grey, wrinkling the corners of their eyes. The woman reached out to Arnold, cupping his face with her hands and wiping the tears he had not realized had fallen with her thumbs. For the first time in his life, he whispered words he never thought he could say.

"Mom? Dad?"

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**(AUTHOR'S NOTE)**

**Please R&R and I'll update as soon as I can!**


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